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            I have exchanged correspondence with several federal ministers concerning Canada's violation of Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The violation was assessed against Canada by the United Nations Human Rights Committee due to the policy of the federal and Ontario governments to discriminate on the basis of religion, through the provision of public funds to the Roman Catholic separate school system. The Human Rights Committee suggested that the violation could be rectified by either the provision of equal public funds to all religions and religious denominations which desire a publicly-funded school system, or to eliminate the preferential public funding of the Roman Catholic separate school system to leave only one publicly-funded school system open to all and with privilege or prejudice to no one.

            In a recent letter to the Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I pointed out that the responsibility for the resolution of the violation lies with the federal government (Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).

            Mr. Pettigrew's response, copy attached, said to me that: "...Canada has adopted the necessary legislative measures to give effect to the rights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." (See first paragraph at the top of page 2.) He goes on to say that: "These measures include.....provincial human rights legislation...."

            My reading of the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Ontario Human Rights Commission website is that Roman Catholic schools in Ontario have special constitutional rights and that these rights are not affected by the Code.

            Will you please confirm to me that Mr. Pettigrew is correct in saying that there is provincial legislation which could be used to eliminate the above violation, by telling me where I may find such legislation,

OR

            Reprinted below is the answer I received from Keith Norton.  Note the fuzziness of the statement “I believe that these statements are not controversial.”

            Also note the wording Norton used:   “…special constitutional rights and privileges enjoyed by denominational schools in section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867.”  More fuzziness – we don’t have “denominational schools” in Ontario – we have “separate” schools.  Also, the wording he used -- “…special constitutional rights and privileges” -- will become significant as the story moves on.

Re:     Correspondence dated June 14, 2005

     1990, c. H.19, s. 19(1).

Sub-section 19(1) is consistent with the special constitutional rights and privileges enjoyed by denominational schools in section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

See: Adler v. Ontario, [1996] 3 S.C.R. 609; Reference re Bill 30, An Act to amend the Education Act (Ont), [1987] 1 S.C.R. 1148.

I trust that this reply is of assistance.

            I have exchanged correspondence with several federal ministers concerning Canada's violation of Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The violation was assessed against Canada by the United Nations Human Rights Committee due to the policy of the federal and Ontario governments to discriminate on the basis of religion, through the provision of public funds to the Roman Catholic separate school system. The Human Rights Committee suggested that the violation could be rectified by either the provision of equal public funds to all religions and religious denominations which desire a publicly-funded school system, or to eliminate the preferential public funding of the Roman Catholic separate school system to leave only one publicly-funded school system open to all and with privilege or prejudice to no one.

            In a letter to the Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, I pointed out that the responsibility for the resolution of the violation lies with the federal government (Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).

            Mr. Pettigrew's response, copy attached, said to me that:  "...Canada has adopted the necessary legislative measures to give effect to the rights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." (See first paragraph at the top of page 2.) He goes on to say that: "These measures include.....provincial human rights legislation...."

            My reading of the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Ontario Human Rights Commission website is that Roman Catholic schools in Ontario have special constitutional rights and that these rights are not affected by the Code.

            Will you please confirm to me that Mr. Pettigrew is correct in saying that there is provincial legislation which could be used to eliminate the above violation, by telling me where I may find such legislation,

OR

            Will you please confirm that I am right, and that the responsibility lies with the federal government, by confirmation to me that there is no provincial human rights legislation in the province of Ontario which could be used to eliminate the discriminatory public funding of Roman Catholic separate schools.

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